Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 1:12 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 1:12 p.m.

A jury voted 10-2 on Tuesday to recommend that Michael Bargo be executed for the murder of Seath Jackson. If the judge imposes this sentence, Bargo will become the youngest person on Florida’s death row.

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Bargo, 21, was found guilty one week ago of first-degree murder with a firearm in the April 2011 killing. The jury spent Friday, Monday and Tuesday hearing testimony about which sentence — life in prison or the death penalty — to recommend.

After about six hours of deliberating the panel returned. Circuit Judge David Eddy called for composure in the courtroom as a clerk read the decision aloud.

“We finally got justice for our son,” she said. “He (Bargo) made his choice when he took Seath’s life, he decided his own fate.”

Bargo’s mother, Tracey O’Brien, appeared visibly upset in the courtroom and clutched a tissue to her face as the verdict was read aloud. She left the courtroom under the protective arm of defense attorney Candace Hawthorne.

Now the sentencing decision rests with the judge, who is required by law to assign “great weight” to the jury recommendation. The Bargo and Jackson families will be given a chance to speak during a hearing tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11.

Lead defense attorney Charles Holloman told the media he had hoped for a different outcome, or at least a more even split.

“We had higher hopes than that in the penalty phase,” he said, pointing out the sentence is not yet final. “We have our argument to make to the judge.”

While the decision wasn’t what he hoped for, Holloman did credit the 12-member jury for its lengthy consideration.

“I don’t see anything, I don’t have any evidence to the contrary that they didn’t approach this thing in a good faith way and examine the issues that were fully and fairly argued in front of them,” he said.

Earlier Tuesday, during closing arguments for the penalty phase, the state argued that the heinous and premeditated nature of Seath’s murder justified the death penalty, while the defense argued that a more fitting punishment would be life in prison.

“Michael Bargo is a psychopath,” Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt told the jury. “He is a criminally oriented guy who gets an idea in his head and he carries it out. He hated Seath Jackson, he wanted him dead, so he killed him.”

Three medical experts testified during the penalty phase and produced different diagnoses for Bargo: oppositional defiant behavior disorder, bordering on psychopathic; suffering from mood seizures that make him unable to control his aggressions; and suffering from a psychosis.

Berndt noted that, on the night of Seath’s murder, Bargo was not only in control of his own actions, but controlled the movements of the four others, all of whom had assigned tasks.

“He was in charge and he ran the show there,” she said.

In a slideshow presentation Berndt sought to deflate the mitigation testimony presented by the defense.

For one, she said, Bargo did not show duress on the night of the murder. Even though he is only 21 this crime went beyond the scope of just a “dumb kid decision.”

Bargo’s parents were divorced, yes, but between 40 percent and 50 percent of marriages end that way. Bargo’s parents tried to give him childhood counseling but he decided to stay angry, oppositional, negative and defiant.

Berndt emphasized the two aggravating factors about the crime that the state sought to prove: that the crime was cold, calculated and premeditated; and that it was heinous, atrocious and cruel. She pointed out that “heinous” refers to mental as well as physical pain.

“Seath knew he was going to die that night at Charlie’s house and that’s why he tried to escape,” said Berndt, referencing co-defendant Charlie Ely. “How can you weigh the magnitude of that kind of suffering, that kind of mental pain?”

In seeking to prove the aggravating factors, Berndt also referenced the cruelty involved. Behind her, the muffled sobs from Seath’s mother could be heard in the back of the courtroom.

“He wanted Seath alive in that bathtub so when Seath took his last breath, the last thing he would see is the defendant standing over him just feet away shooting him in the face,” said Berndt. “That was part of the plan and that is cruel. It’s cruel by any definition and beyond any reasonable doubt.”

She concluded by telling the jury that its role was to render a decision without prejudice, sympathy or bias.

“Justice in this case is a recommendation that the defendant, Michael Bargo, be sentenced to death,” Berndt said.

Berndt also told the jury there was not equal culpability among Bargo and his four co-defendants, all of whom are serving life in prison. It was Bargo alone who pulled the trigger and took Seath’s life, she said.

“They pinned this thing, their death penalty recommendation, on the fact that he had a firearm,” Holloman said during his closing argument.

He said he would not make any excuses for his client, but he did point out the involvement of each person at the time of Seath’s death remains a little vague.

“I can’t think of a better solution for this case than he have to live there (prison) for the rest of his life and take those marching orders and everything else,” Holloman said. “Because he will live there until he dies there.”

He urged the jury not to let anger color its judgment and to remember that the court’s instructions do not compel or require a recommendation of death.

“The only break he should get is to die in state prison at the normal end of his life,” Holloman told the jury.

Holloman agreed his client has a bad attitude, but also referenced the struggles he endured during childhood.

“He ain’t normal, as they say, and that’s one of the reasons we’d ask his life to be spared,” said Holloman, referencing all the mental health testing on Bargo and the fact that his client had episodes of trying to kill himself and self-mutilation.

While the state tried to prove Bargo has control of his own actions, the defense disagreed. “How can they say he is normal and do something like this?” Holloman asked.

He accepted that Bargo didn’t recognize the value of human life on April 17, 2011. “But we are made of sterner stuff,” he told the jurors.

Bargo’s medical records show in 2007 a professional wrote the probability of him participating in continued violence was high. Killing Bargo won’t bring back Seath, Holloman reminded the jury.

He ended his presentation by flashing two childhood photos of Bargo to the jury. “The last thing for his mom to ever want was for him to grow up to be a murderer, but that’s what he is.”

The jury began deliberations at 11:20 a.m. and returned to the courtroom about 5:30 p.m.

<p>A jury voted 10-2 on Tuesday to recommend that Michael Bargo be executed for the murder of Seath Jackson. If the judge imposes this sentence, Bargo will become the youngest person on Florida's death row.</p><p>Bargo, 21, was found guilty one week ago of first-degree murder with a firearm in the April 2011 killing. The jury spent Friday, Monday and Tuesday hearing testimony about which sentence — life in prison or the death penalty — to recommend.</p><p>After about six hours of deliberating the panel returned. Circuit Judge David Eddy called for composure in the courtroom as a clerk read the decision aloud.</p><p>Bargo showed no emotion. Later, outside the courtroom, Seath's mother, Sonia, appeared strong while briefly speaking to reporters.</p><p>“We finally got justice for our son,” she said. “He (Bargo) made his choice when he took Seath's life, he decided his own fate.”</p><p>Bargo's mother, Tracey O'Brien, appeared visibly upset in the courtroom and clutched a tissue to her face as the verdict was read aloud. She left the courtroom under the protective arm of defense attorney Candace Hawthorne.</p><p>Now the sentencing decision rests with the judge, who is required by law to assign “great weight” to the jury recommendation. The Bargo and Jackson families will be given a chance to speak during a hearing tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11.</p><p>Lead defense attorney Charles Holloman told the media he had hoped for a different outcome, or at least a more even split.</p><p>“We had higher hopes than that in the penalty phase,” he said, pointing out the sentence is not yet final. “We have our argument to make to the judge.”</p><p>While the decision wasn't what he hoped for, Holloman did credit the 12-member jury for its lengthy consideration.</p><p>“I don't see anything, I don't have any evidence to the contrary that they didn't approach this thing in a good faith way and examine the issues that were fully and fairly argued in front of them,” he said.</p><p>Earlier Tuesday, during closing arguments for the penalty phase, the state argued that the heinous and premeditated nature of Seath's murder justified the death penalty, while the defense argued that a more fitting punishment would be life in prison.</p><p>“Michael Bargo is a psychopath,” Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt told the jury. “He is a criminally oriented guy who gets an idea in his head and he carries it out. He hated Seath Jackson, he wanted him dead, so he killed him.”</p><p>Three medical experts testified during the penalty phase and produced different diagnoses for Bargo: oppositional defiant behavior disorder, bordering on psychopathic; suffering from mood seizures that make him unable to control his aggressions; and suffering from a psychosis.</p><p>Berndt noted that, on the night of Seath's murder, Bargo was not only in control of his own actions, but controlled the movements of the four others, all of whom had assigned tasks.</p><p>“He was in charge and he ran the show there,” she said.</p><p>In a slideshow presentation Berndt sought to deflate the mitigation testimony presented by the defense.</p><p>For one, she said, Bargo did not show duress on the night of the murder. Even though he is only 21 this crime went beyond the scope of just a “dumb kid decision.”</p><p>Bargo's parents were divorced, yes, but between 40 percent and 50 percent of marriages end that way. Bargo's parents tried to give him childhood counseling but he decided to stay angry, oppositional, negative and defiant.</p><p>Berndt emphasized the two aggravating factors about the crime that the state sought to prove: that the crime was cold, calculated and premeditated; and that it was heinous, atrocious and cruel. She pointed out that “heinous” refers to mental as well as physical pain.</p><p>“Seath knew he was going to die that night at Charlie's house and that's why he tried to escape,” said Berndt, referencing co-defendant Charlie Ely. “How can you weigh the magnitude of that kind of suffering, that kind of mental pain?”</p><p>In seeking to prove the aggravating factors, Berndt also referenced the cruelty involved. Behind her, the muffled sobs from Seath's mother could be heard in the back of the courtroom.</p><p>“He wanted Seath alive in that bathtub so when Seath took his last breath, the last thing he would see is the defendant standing over him just feet away shooting him in the face,” said Berndt. “That was part of the plan and that is cruel. It's cruel by any definition and beyond any reasonable doubt.”</p><p>She concluded by telling the jury that its role was to render a decision without prejudice, sympathy or bias.</p><p>“Justice in this case is a recommendation that the defendant, Michael Bargo, be sentenced to death,” Berndt said.</p><p>Berndt also told the jury there was not equal culpability among Bargo and his four co-defendants, all of whom are serving life in prison. It was Bargo alone who pulled the trigger and took Seath's life, she said.</p><p>“They pinned this thing, their death penalty recommendation, on the fact that he had a firearm,” Holloman said during his closing argument.</p><p>He said he would not make any excuses for his client, but he did point out the involvement of each person at the time of Seath's death remains a little vague.</p><p>“I can't think of a better solution for this case than he have to live there (prison) for the rest of his life and take those marching orders and everything else,” Holloman said. “Because he will live there until he dies there.”</p><p>He urged the jury not to let anger color its judgment and to remember that the court's instructions do not compel or require a recommendation of death.</p><p>“The only break he should get is to die in state prison at the normal end of his life,” Holloman told the jury.</p><p>Holloman agreed his client has a bad attitude, but also referenced the struggles he endured during childhood.</p><p>“He ain't normal, as they say, and that's one of the reasons we'd ask his life to be spared,” said Holloman, referencing all the mental health testing on Bargo and the fact that his client had episodes of trying to kill himself and self-mutilation.</p><p>While the state tried to prove Bargo has control of his own actions, the defense disagreed. “How can they say he is normal and do something like this?” Holloman asked.</p><p>He accepted that Bargo didn't recognize the value of human life on April 17, 2011. “But we are made of sterner stuff,” he told the jurors.</p><p>Bargo's medical records show in 2007 a professional wrote the probability of him participating in continued violence was high. Killing Bargo won't bring back Seath, Holloman reminded the jury.</p><p>He ended his presentation by flashing two childhood photos of Bargo to the jury. “The last thing for his mom to ever want was for him to grow up to be a murderer, but that's what he is.”</p><p>The jury began deliberations at 11:20 a.m. and returned to the courtroom about 5:30 p.m.</p>